Thoughts on "On the Prowl" [VVC vid] and wider fandom.

Aug 24, 2010 18:14

I'm not entirely sure it's a good idea to post this (all the best posts start this way...) but in the interests of not having my head explode with thinking, I figured why not. I was going to flock it but that seemed kind of cowardly. Not that I feel particularly brave right now. I'm not trying to be a jerk, but...I have an opinion, so I'm going to try and state it, hopefully without it seeming like I'm the type of person who likes burning kittens for fun.

I would also like to acknowledge that my opinion is based on the discussions I've seen around fandom regarding this vid, but I would be shocked if that were anything approaching exhaustive. If I've missed anything or am labouring under some misapprehension, I apologise and welcome further information.

So, to get on with it, On the Prowl is a VVC vid that got heavily recced around fandom, so I watched it. It deals with the sexualisation of violence against men, and was completed for the "self-portrait" challenge.

When I first saw it, it didn't really connect with me, basically because that's not a portrait of me, or of an area of fandom I find particularly interesting. I don't find men getting beaten up hot, and generally I identify with and am more invested in female characters. Which was fine, because I know that there is a large chunk of fandom that likes pretty boys and hurt/comfort and that's who this vid was for. But I didn't get it, and frankly, wasn't sure I was well-enough versed in the tropes and "language" of that section of fandom to be equipped to get all its nuances. Which again, is as it should be - I certainly don't expect every vid I love to mean something equally deep and compelling to someone unfamiliar with either the source or the fandom to which it's speaking. This is especially true with meta vids which are often part of, or in response to, larger conversations.

So, that's cool, it's a vid that's not really aimed at me. The reason I'm posting this though, is the general tone of wider discussion of the vid, and the presentation of its arguments and the nature of its importance in wider fandom. And here's where we get to the bit I'm slightly afraid of posting, especially since I'm not a VVC attendee and therefore am not overly familiar with the conventions of that culture either, but equally I want to say something.

In general I've felt the overall tone of fandom-wide discussion has presented this vid as:

1) a socially important issue that we need to examine and that shows a need for self-examination.
2) an Important Vid that You need to watch even though it will be Uncomfortable; essentially, a vid that comments on fandom; an equation of people for whom this vid does function as a portrait with fandom at large.

I have a few issues with this. All of which tie in with some issues I have with fandom and its attitudes to gender generally, so I own that, which is why it's the way this vid plays in wider context that I'm commenting on.

The Socially Important Issue Thing.

To address the first point, there's an awful lot of self-questioning about why brutalised men are sexy, whether this is acceptable, whether women are cast as the perpetrators of violence, whether the shows are allowing or encouraging that. Whether it's acceptable to be turned on by it. I've seen it compared to the flip side of "Women's Work" (a famous vid by one of the same vidders about (arguably sexualised) violence against minor female characters as a matter of course in SPN) in several places. Likewise, I have seen several comments about how this is a long overdue criticism and it's high time we took a Good, Long, Hard Look at Ourselves.

Now, there are a boatload of ways this can spin out regarding gender in the wide world and how chicks get the short end, and whether this is reclaimation, if two wrongs make a right, or if it even counts because LJ is largely female, or if LJ being largely female is the only reason it's a space where this reclaimation can occur and sure, I have opinions on all these things, and I'm not trying to say it's not a conversation to have, especially not for those who watched the vid, and did get it, and are now moved to wonder why they feel this way and whether they're comfortable with it. But I do think it misses a really big point:

Brutalisation of major male characters to further their own storylines and our sympathy for them =/= brutalisation of minor female characters to further the storylines and our sympathy for male characters.

That's a fundamental difference in the way most male and female characters get beat up on TV.

So while I'm not against anyone wondering what this pattern of violence to male heroes (or their attraction to it) means, I guess I am very much against equating it with the very real representational issues regarding women as victims of violence in our media. Or that a priority for fandom (which already spends an extraordinary amount of time and effort on male characters - in turn perhaps because of what we're offered, but again, this is another, complex debate), should now be to turn around and defend these male characters who are already privileged both narratively and in terms of fandom's attention.

The Fandom Portrait Thing.

I think maybe I can be a bit more succinct on this bit.

I am in fandom. This vid is not a portrait of me. I am not particularly unique in my interests within fandom. I did not need to see this vid to learn anything about myself. I did not need to see it to know that a certain section of fandom appreciates violence in its h/c boyslash.

Above I detail why I'm not sure the way a certain wider reading of this vid is a valid social criticism of fandom attitudes (i.e. because I do not think the arguments about what this says about the unfair treatment of men by the media/fandom hold water).

But here I'm trying to say...even if they did hold water, I don't think they'd be as broadly applicable as is being suggested in places.

The Other Important Things Thing.

There are a few other things I think it's important to say:

- I have seen various responses to this vid; I absolutely don't want to present the prevalent "vibe" I've been getting as the only discussion out there. And it's great that people are discussing it: hey, look, here I am doing the same thing!

- I really, really have no issue with this vid as a self-portrait, or with people fascinatedly trying to find their own line within it. I know I already said this, but it bears repeating. I really do understand why, to people who identify with it, it would be a fascinating vid.

- I do not want to assume the intentions of the vidders in making this vid. As far as I'm aware it was always presented by them as a self-portrait and I would not want to presume to ascribe any further motivations to them.

vidding, meta?, retreat to the bunker!, on the prowl, i swear i don't burn kittens

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